While, as mentioned, productiveness does not require that one makes money from productive endeavors, work does, properly, need to be the central purpose... Indeed, considered properly, that work - the renderings by the artist - should be THE principle form that the 'pursuit of happiness' takes... this is especially important to an artist, no less then for others... it is not a case of simply being an element of the good life - IT NEEDS BE THE CENTRAL ELEMENT...
Why?
To begin with, a central purpose is the long-range goal that ought to be the basic or primary claim on a person's time, energy, and resources...properly, all the other goals are not only secondary but they should be integrated to the central purpose - pursued as compliment, not distractions... the issue is the necessity of being an integrated being - something which humans have to learn, and have to choose the specific anchor as it were on which to tie the rest as flying buttresses to help hold and enlarge the purposefulness... without a central purpose, a person would not be able to know how valuable anything is in relationship to that person...
This is something most artists intuit or sense, but unfortunately rarely consciously grasp and understand... there is recognised the 'compulsion' as it were to render, but all too often its placement as the center from which all else radiates is mitigated by a belief other factors need take greater presence... the consequences are often devastating - fewer works, less thought given to the works done or contemplated on, and more emphasis on visceral means to choosing subject material - and this is just the art itself... without a central purpose, actions are more susceptible to being determined by emotions - with the consequence of not seeing compelling reasons to stay with a particular rendering, for instance, when it becomes difficult, tedious, or even just mildly unpleasant... if an artist lacks a clear primary objective, there will seem to be no grounds for evaluating the benefits that might be derived from various other activities - greater insight to the rendering in progress perhaps, or derivative variations from the central themes of the work, and so forth...
However, if the artist grasps that the doing of art is the central purpose and has embraced that, then by contrast, there is a reason for doing various things and a basis for deciding which things are worth the doing... as such, that central purpose involving being the artist can provide motivation throughout the artist's life, anchoring the lesser purposes on a relative scale, thus enhancing the life being lived... this is so even when the monetary rewards are not such that remuneration is sufficient on its own to allow full-time concentration...
While this is a general statement regarding artists in general, it seems to be more important to those who deal with pen and ink, in part I suspect because of the amount of seeming time needed to do the works, small as most are, and the also 'non-expectations' of the renderings being considered as fine art by others... in other words, there is a stronger psychological pressure to bear - and in consequence, some simply cast aside their inner ambitions regarding pen and inks and either become just hobbyists or worse, discard to a more socially accepted medium... if, however, this grasping of purpose and the artist is made, and the organization of the artist's life is then wrapped around the greatest value - rendering, then there is better chance of 'survival' as it were, and flourishing as long term consequence...
This is something most artists intuit or sense, but unfortunately rarely consciously grasp and understand... there is recognised the 'compulsion' as it were to render, but all too often its placement as the center from which all else radiates is mitigated by a belief other factors need take greater presence... the consequences are often devastating - fewer works, less thought given to the works done or contemplated on, and more emphasis on visceral means to choosing subject material - and this is just the art itself... without a central purpose, actions are more susceptible to being determined by emotions - with the consequence of not seeing compelling reasons to stay with a particular rendering, for instance, when it becomes difficult, tedious, or even just mildly unpleasant... if an artist lacks a clear primary objective, there will seem to be no grounds for evaluating the benefits that might be derived from various other activities - greater insight to the rendering in progress perhaps, or derivative variations from the central themes of the work, and so forth...
However, if the artist grasps that the doing of art is the central purpose and has embraced that, then by contrast, there is a reason for doing various things and a basis for deciding which things are worth the doing... as such, that central purpose involving being the artist can provide motivation throughout the artist's life, anchoring the lesser purposes on a relative scale, thus enhancing the life being lived... this is so even when the monetary rewards are not such that remuneration is sufficient on its own to allow full-time concentration...
While this is a general statement regarding artists in general, it seems to be more important to those who deal with pen and ink, in part I suspect because of the amount of seeming time needed to do the works, small as most are, and the also 'non-expectations' of the renderings being considered as fine art by others... in other words, there is a stronger psychological pressure to bear - and in consequence, some simply cast aside their inner ambitions regarding pen and inks and either become just hobbyists or worse, discard to a more socially accepted medium... if, however, this grasping of purpose and the artist is made, and the organization of the artist's life is then wrapped around the greatest value - rendering, then there is better chance of 'survival' as it were, and flourishing as long term consequence...
After all, when one relinquishes it to a 'more favored medium', it amounts to in effect acting like animals do, letting 'the environment' rule - adapting to the environment - instead of changing the environment to suit, the human way... the productiveness, remember, is in the doing [assuming, of course, that doing is what one wants really to be doing in the first place], regardless of whether the market is able to recognise the importance and remuneration ensues...
ReplyDeleteAmen to that...had a tough night last night. Had one lady that did understand the trials of trying to sell pen & ink renderings. She had words of encouragement...fearing I would give up pen and ink because they rarely sell. I love pen and ink and will continue whether I sell another ever. My house will be full and my friends and family's walls will be full, but I will be happily inking away. I gave up once before...never again...
ReplyDeleteGood! ;-)
ReplyDelete